CN111093358A

CN111093358A - Crop elevator and combine

Info

Publication number: CN111093358A
Application number: CN201880046838.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: M·贝尔; B·M·A·米索特恩; E·维克莱; D·R·尤德
Original assignee: CNH China Management Co Ltd
Current assignee: Keisnew Netherlands Industrial Harbin Machinery Co ltd
Priority date: 2017-06-02
Filing date: 2018-03-12
Publication date: 2020-05-01
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-12
Also published as: BE1025281A9; BE1025281B1; EP3629699A1; BE1025281A1; CN111093358B; EP3629699B1; US11647695B2; BR112019025341A2; BE1025281B9; BR112019025341B1; US20200084964A1; WO2018219510A1

Abstract

A crop elevator (200) for a combine harvester is described. The crop elevator includes an upper run (250) and a lower run (260) and a housing (210) enclosing the upper run (250) and the lower run (260). The elevator further includes an elevator loop (230) disposed within the housing (210) that includes a plurality of paddles (220) for elevating the harvested crop. The elevator further comprises a weighing system configured to determine a weight of the harvested crop present on the at least one blade during the elevating movement of the at least one blade in the up-comer (250). The weighing system includes a weight sensor (300) configured to output a weight signal indicative of a weight of the harvested crop. The elevator upleg comprises a measuring section (255), the weighing system is configured to retrieve the weight signal when the at least one blade is located in the measuring section (255) of the elevator (200), and the friction between the blade and the housing is lower in the measuring section (255) than outside the measuring section (255).

Description

Crop elevator and combine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of combine harvesters and more particularly to crop lifts for use in such harvesters.

Background

The present invention relates to the field of combine harvesters, for example for harvesting crops such as cereals. Typically, such harvesters include a header for harvesting the crop and a conveyor system for conveying the harvested crop to an on-board tank or to a grain trailer or truck that moves with the harvester. Such a conveying system may, for example, include an elevator having a lower inlet section for receiving the flow of harvested crop and an upper outlet section for outputting the flow of harvested crop. Typically, a yield sensor is provided adjacent the outlet section, the yield sensor being for indicating the amount of harvested crop. In principle, such a sensor may be calibrated when comparing the harvested crop amount measured by the yield sensor with an actual harvested crop amount obtained by weighing the harvested crop amount using a scale, for example. However, in practice, this can be cumbersome, for example, where multiple harvesters supply harvested crops to a common grain trailer or truck. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an alternative way to calibrate a yield sensor of a combine harvester.

Disclosure of Invention

It is desirable to provide a combine harvester that can more accurately determine the yield of harvested crops. To better address this issue, in one aspect of the invention, there is provided a crop elevator for a harvester, comprising:

an ascending section and a descending section;

a housing enclosing the riser and the descender;

an elevator loop disposed inside the housing and including a plurality of blades for elevating a harvested crop;

a weighing system configured to determine a weight of the harvested crop present on a measuring blade during an ascending movement of the measuring blade in the ascending section, the weighing system including a weight sensor mechanically coupled to the measuring blade and configured to output a weight signal indicative of the weight of the harvested crop;

wherein the rising section comprises a measuring section, the weighing system being configured to determine the weight signal when the measuring blade is located in the measuring section of the rising section, and the friction between the measuring blade and the housing during the lifting movement of the measuring blade in the rising section is lower in the measuring section than outside the measuring section.

According to the present invention there is provided a crop elevator for elevating a stream of harvested crop. The crop elevator includes an elevator loop provided with a plurality of paddles that move through an ascending section and a descending section of the elevator. The rising and falling sections are enclosed or surrounded by a housing.

In one embodiment, a crop elevator according to the present invention has: an inlet section located near a bottom of the elevator loop and configured to receive a flow of harvested crop; and an outlet section located near a top of the elevator loop and configured to output a flow of harvested crop. In such an embodiment, the flow of harvested crop received by the inlet section is distributed over the blades and conveyed upwardly through the uptake section.

According to the invention, the crop elevator further comprises a weighing system for weighing the amount of harvested crop on the paddles. Such weighing systems may, for example, comprise one or more load cells disposed on one or more blades (referred to as measuring blades) configured to output a weight signal indicative of the weight of the harvested crop during the upward transport. It is acknowledged that load cells for weighing harvested crops in crop elevators are known. However, known arrangements are believed to provide unreliable measurement results due to friction occurring between the measuring blade and the elevator (i.e. the inner surface of the housing portion surrounding the riser). In this connection, it is to be noted that, in order to avoid spilling of the harvested crop from the blades, only a narrow gap is allowed between the blades and the housing. As a result, the blade may occasionally contact the elevator housing, thereby adversely affecting the reliability of the weighing result. To mitigate this effect, the crop elevator according to the invention is provided with a measuring section which is part of the elevator up-section, whereby the weighing system is configured to retrieve the weight signal of the one or more weight sensors when the one or more measuring blades are located in the measuring section of the elevator. Furthermore, according to the invention, measures are taken to reduce the friction in order to ensure that the friction between the measuring blade and the housing in the measuring section is lower than the friction between the measuring blade and the housing outside the measuring section. By doing so, the measuring blade can pass the measuring section with reduced friction compared to the rest of the measuring blade passing the rising section. Thus, a more accurate and reliable weighing of the harvested crop on the measuring blade can be achieved.

In one embodiment of the invention, the cross-section of the measurement section is larger than the nominal cross-section of the rising section. By doing so, contact between the paddle and the elevator housing during weighing can be avoided. Since this increased cross-section is only applied in the measuring section of the elevator, the spillage of the harvested crop through the gap between the blade and the housing will remain small and will not affect the efficiency of the elevator process.

Alternatively or in addition, other friction reducing measures may be taken to ensure more accurate weight measurements. Such measures may for example include the use of special coatings in the measuring section, for example low friction coatings such as Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); or applying a bearing between the housing and the one or more blades in the measuring section. As an example, an air bearing may be provided in the measuring section between the housing and the opposite surface of the measuring blade to ensure that there is no contact between the housing and the measuring blade during weighing.

As another example of a measure to reduce friction, a thinner casing or a casing of a different material may be applied in the measuring section, providing increased flexibility to the casing portion enclosing the measuring section and/or providing a larger gap between the casing and the blade passed thereby.

According to the invention, the weighing system comprises one or more weight sensors for generating a weight signal representative of the weight of the harvested crop. As a first example of such a sensor, the one or more blades used for weighing may for example be provided with a force sensor or pressure sensor, e.g. a load sensor, mounted on or contained in the top surface of the blade.

As a second example, strain sensors mounted, for example, to a belt or chain to which the blades are connected, may be employed to determine the weight of the one or more blades and the harvested crop supported thereon.

In one embodiment, the one or more weight signals of the one or more weight sensors may be provided to a processor of the weighing system, the processor being configured to receive the weight signals and determine the harvested crop weight from the received weight signals.

In one embodiment, the weighing system further comprises a proximity sensor configured to output a proximity signal indicative of the measured blade position. Such a proximity sensor (e.g. an inductive or capacitive sensor) may be mounted at the bottom side of the measuring section. In this way, the proximity sensor may be used to sense whether the blade has reached the measurement section, thereby indicating when to perform processing of the weight signal.

In one embodiment, the crop elevator according to the invention may be applied in a combine harvester according to the invention. Such a harvester may, for example, be equipped with a yield sensor configured to provide a yield signal indicative of the flow of harvested crop output by the crop elevator. In such embodiments, the weight of the harvested crop on the measurement paddle determined by the weighing system may be used to calibrate the yield sensor.

These and other aspects of the present invention will be better understood and more readily appreciated by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts.

Drawings

Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a crop elevator known in the prior art.

Figure 2 shows a cross-section of a crop elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 and 4 show enlarged cross-sections of a measuring section of a crop elevator according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of a crop elevator 100 as known in the art. The crop elevator 100 includes an elevator loop disposed inside a housing 110 of the crop elevator 100, the elevator loop including a plurality of paddles 120 mounted to a chain or belt 130 of the elevator loop. By driving the elevator loop as indicated by arrow 140, the paddle on the left side of the chain or belt 130 as viewed in the view of fig. 1 will move upward while the paddle on the right side of the chain or belt 130 will move downward. The crop elevator portion with the paddles moving upward is hereinafter referred to as the up section 150 of the elevator 100, and the crop elevator portion with the paddles moving downward is hereinafter referred to as the down section 160 of the elevator 100. The crop elevator 100 as shown further includes an inlet section 170, the inlet section 170 configured to receive a crop flow of the harvested crop 180, such as grain, which is received by the paddles 120 and conveyed upwardly in the uptake section. In the arrangement shown, the flow of harvested crop 180 is supplied to the inlet section 170 by an auger 190, the auger 190 extending in a Y direction perpendicular to the XZ plane of the figure. The illustrated crop elevator 100 also includes an outlet section 195 for outputting a crop stream of harvested crop 180 at an elevated height. It is known to use a weighing system (not shown) in such elevators to determine the amount of harvested crop on the paddles in the upleg. However, the weighing results obtained in such an arrangement are inaccurate due to the relatively narrow gap between the blade 120 and the housing 110.

In order to increase the measurement accuracy of the weighing process, improved crop lifts have therefore been proposed. Fig. 2 schematically illustrates a crop elevator 200 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The crop elevator 200 includes an elevator loop disposed inside a housing 210 of the crop elevator 200, the elevator loop including a plurality of paddles 220 mounted to a chain or belt 230 of the elevator loop. By driving the elevator loop as shown by arrow 240, the paddle on the left side of the chain or belt 130 will move upward in the up leg 250 of the elevator while the paddle on the right side of the chain or belt 130 will move downward in the down leg 260 of the elevator 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the illustrated crop elevator 200 further includes an inlet section 270, the inlet section 270 configured to receive a crop flow, such as grain, of the harvested crop 280, the crop flow of the harvested crop 280 being received by the paddles 220 and conveyed upwardly in the uptake section. In the embodiment shown, the crop flow of the harvested crop 280 is supplied to the inlet section 270 by an auger 290, the auger 290 extending in a Y direction perpendicular to the XZ plane of the figure. The illustrated crop elevator 200 also includes an outlet section 295 for outputting a crop stream of harvested crop 280 at an elevated height. According to the present invention, the crop elevator 200 further comprises a weighing system mounted on the at least one paddle 220 configured to determine the weight of the harvested crop 280 during the lifting movement of the at least one paddle in the lifting section. In the embodiment shown, the weighing system includes a weight sensor 300 configured to output a weight signal indicative of the weight of the harvested crop conveyed by the one or more paddles. By way of example, such a weight sensor 300 may, for example, comprise a load sensor mounted to or contained in a top surface of one of the plurality of blades 220. Furthermore, according to the invention, the weighing system is configured to perform the weighing process when the blade to be weighed is located in a dedicated section of the elevator riser, referred to as the measuring section 255 of the elevator 200. According to the invention, the measuring section 255 applied in the crop elevator is configured such that the friction between the blade passing through the measuring section (which blade is referred to as the measuring blade) and the housing is lower than the friction between the measuring blade and the housing outside the measuring section (i.e. the friction between the measuring blade and the housing when the measuring blade rises in the lifting section outside the measuring section). According to the invention, various measures for reducing friction can be taken in order to be able to reduce the friction of one or more measuring blades when passing through the measuring section 255 of the rising section 250.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the cross section of the housing part of the housing enclosing the measuring section is larger than the nominal cross section of the housing enclosing the rising section. As shown, the rise width W at the measurement segment 255 is increased compared to the rise nominal width Wn outside the measurement segment. The same increase or widening can also be applied in the Y direction. In this way, the measuring blade reaching the measuring section 255 will no longer contact the housing 210 due to the increased cross-section. This will enable the weighing system to provide a more accurate weighing of the blade to be weighed.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the height Zm of the measuring section and the distance between two consecutive ones of the blades 220 are set such that only one measuring blade will be at the measuring section at the same time. However, by increasing the height Zm of the measuring section, it is possible to have more than one blade in the measuring section, i.e. more than one measuring blade, e.g. two or three. When each measuring blade is provided with a sensor or when a pair of strain sensors is used as will be explained in more detail below, the total weight of the measuring blade can be determined.

In the embodiment shown, the weighing system further includes a processing system 310 configured to receive the weight signal of the one or more weight sensors 300 at an input terminal 312 and configured to determine the harvested crop weight from the received weight signal. Such a processing system 310 may be, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a computer, or the like. In one embodiment, the determined weight and/or the received weight signal may be stored, for example, in a memory unit of the processing unit. In the embodiment shown, the processing unit 310 further comprises an output terminal 314 for outputting a signal representing the determined weight.

As can be seen in the illustrated embodiment, the housing portion of the measuring section 255 includes a lower portion 212 and an upper portion 214, the width of the lower portion 212 increasing from a nominal width Wn to an increased width W, and the width of the upper portion 214 decreasing from the increased width W to the nominal width Wn. It will be appreciated that alternative ways of providing an increased cross-section in a dedicated section of the housing may also be devised.

In the embodiment shown, the crop elevator 200 has an outlet section 295 for outputting a crop stream of harvested crop 280 at an elevated height. The crop elevator 200 also includes a yield sensor 296 configured to output a yield signal indicative of the flow of crop output through the outlet section 295. Such a yield sensor may for example be a yield sensor as known in the art. Typically, the yield sensor needs to be calibrated to ensure an accurate correspondence of the harvested crop amount determined from the yield sensor measurements and the harvested crop amount measurements obtained using the scale in the farm where the harvested crop is collected.

In one embodiment of the invention, the yield sensor 296 applied in the crop elevator may be calibrated based on a weight signal of the weighing system (e.g., a weight signal obtained from the weight sensor 300).

Fig. 3 schematically shows an enlarged cross-section of a measuring section 455 of a crop elevator according to the invention. Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a portion of an elevator loop 430 and a measurement paddle 420, the movement of the elevator loop 430 being indicated by arrow 435, the measurement paddle 420 being connected to the elevator loop 430, there being an amount of harvested crop 480 on the measurement paddle 420. Fig. 3 also schematically illustrates a portion of the housing 410 of the crop elevator. It can be seen that in the embodiment shown, the housing width Wn increases to an increased width W in the measurement section 455. Due to the increased width of the housing, a gap δ is created between the measuring blade 420 and the housing 410. In the embodiment shown, the gap is greatest at the lower end of the measurement segment 455 and gradually decreases upward in the measurement segment until substantially decreasing to zero. By introducing a gap δ between the measuring blade 420 and the housing 410, the friction between the measuring blade 420 and the housing 410 is reduced, at least as long as the measuring blade 420 is located within the measuring section 455. Thus, according to the present invention, the weight of the harvested crop 480 on the measurement blade 420 is determined by passing the measurement blade through the measurement segment 455. For weighing the amount of the crop on the measuring blade 420, the measuring blade 420 may be equipped with a load cell or pressure sensor 490, which is thus an example of a weight sensor that may be applied in the weighing system of the crop elevator according to the invention. As an alternative to a load sensor mounted on or incorporated into the surface of the measurement blade 420, a pair of strain sensors 492 may be employed to determine the weight of the harvested crop 280 on the measurement blade 420. It can be seen that one strain sensor 492 of a pair of strain sensors 492 is mounted to the elevator loop 430 above the blade 420, while the other strain sensor 492 of the pair of strain sensors 492 is mounted below the blade. The difference in strain measured by the pair of sensors 492 can be considered to represent the weight of the elevator section plus the weight of the blades plus the weight of the harvested crop 480 between the pair of sensors. The weight of the elevator section plus the weight of the blade 420 between the pair of sensors may be predetermined by factory calibration and used to calculate the weight of the harvested crop 480 present on the blade 420. Alternatively or in addition, the weight of the elevator section plus the weight of the blade 420 between the pair of sensors may also be determined during operation (particularly when the blade 420 and sensor 492 are descending in the elevator down leg). Note, however, that the relative positions of the pair of sensors in the vertical direction are reversed in the descending section. In this arrangement, i.e. where the weight of the elevator section plus the weight of the blade 420 is evaluated between a pair of sensors during operation, it is worthwhile to have a measuring section also in the drop section, since the blade is also subjected to friction as it passes the drop section.

Fig. 3 also schematically shows a proximity sensor 494 that is mounted to the housing 410 and below the measurement segment 455. Such a sensor 494 (e.g., a capacitive, inductive, or optical sensor) may generate a signal indicative of the presence of the measuring blade 420. Thus, in the embodiment shown, such a signal may indicate whether the measuring blade 420 is about to reach the measuring section 455 and whether a weight measurement may be initiated.

In the embodiment shown, the measuring section 455 (and in particular the housing portion of the measuring section) is wider than the housing portion below or above the measuring section. It will be appreciated that the same or similar widening may be employed in a direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet (i.e. in the Y direction perpendicular to the XZ plane of the drawing) to further reduce friction between the blade 420 and the measuring section 455 passing through the measuring section.

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates an alternative way according to the invention for reducing friction between the measuring blade 420 and the housing part 510 of the crop elevator housing. Similar to fig. 3, fig. 4 schematically illustrates a portion of an elevator loop 430 and a measurement blade 420, the movement of the elevator loop 430 being indicated by arrow 435, the measurement blade 420 being connected to the elevator loop 430, there being a quantity of harvested crop 480 on the measurement blade 420. Fig. 4 also schematically shows a part of the housing 510 of the crop elevator, the housing 510 having an aperture, the height H of which corresponds to the height of the measuring section 455. In the embodiment shown, the aperture is covered by a cover 520 mounted to the outer surface 510.1 of the housing. By doing so, the width Wn of the housing 510 is increased to the increased width W in the measurement section 455. In the embodiment shown, the width W corresponds to the width Wn + the thickness of the housing 510 in the X direction. Due to the increased width W in the measuring section 455, a gap δ is created between the measuring blade 420 and the cover 520. Thus, the blade 420 will be subjected to reduced friction by the measuring section 455.

In one embodiment of the invention, the cover 520 used to cover the housing aperture may be thinner than the housing and/or made of a more flexible material than the material used for the housing. By doing so, friction between the measuring blade 420 and the cover 520 can be further reduced.

In one embodiment, rather than providing and covering an aperture in the housing, the housing portion that encloses the measurement section may be thinner than the rest of the housing. By doing so, the friction between the blade and the casing through the measuring section can also be reduced.

The crop elevator according to the invention enables a more accurate determination of the upwardly conveyed harvested crop due to the use of measuring sections with reduced friction. The weighing results may for example be used to calibrate yield sensors typically applied on or near the harvester outlet section.

Another embodiment (not shown) includes a crop elevator 100 having a constant cross-section riser 150. The measuring blade including the weight sensor 300 has a reduced area relative to the other blades. The reduced area of the small blade has the effect that the distance between the blade and the housing is larger than the distance between the other blades 220 and the housing, so the friction between the measured blade and the housing 210 is lower than the friction between the other blades 220 and the housing 210. At the measuring section, the weight signal provided by the sensor 300 on the small blade is determined, thereby generating a more accurate weight. As another advantage, the proximity sensor 294 that determines the position of the measurement segment 255 may be positioned at any location along the length of the rising segment 150.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.

The terms a or an, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term "plurality", as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term another, as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms including and/or having, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language, not excluding other elements or steps). Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims or the invention.

The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

The term coupled, as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

Claims

1. A crop elevator (200) for a harvester, comprising:

an ascending section (250) and a descending section (260);

a housing (210) enclosing the riser (250) and the descender (260);

an elevator loop (230) arranged inside the housing (210) and comprising a plurality of blades (220) for elevating the harvested crop;

a weighing system configured to determine a weight of the harvested crop present on a measuring blade (420) of the plurality of blades (220) during an elevating movement of the measuring blade (420) in the up-going segment (250), the weighing system comprising a weight sensor (300) mechanically coupled to the measuring blade (420) and configured to output a weight signal representative of the weight of the harvested crop;

wherein the rising section (250) comprises a measurement section (255); the weighing system is configured to determine a weight signal when the measuring blade (420) is located in a measuring section (255) of the rising section (250); and during the lifting movement of the measuring blade (420) in the lifting section (250), the friction between the measuring blade (420) and the housing (210) in the measuring section (255) is lower than the friction between the blade (220, 420) and the housing (210) outside the measuring section (255).

2. A crop elevator according to claim 1, wherein during the lifting movement of the measuring blade (420) in the lifting section (250), the friction between the measuring blade (420) and the housing (210) in the measuring section (255) is lower than the friction between the measuring blade (420) and the housing (210) outside the measuring section (255).

3. The crop elevator of claim 2, wherein a cross-section of a housing portion of the housing (210) enclosing the measurement section (255) is greater than a nominal cross-section of the housing (210) enclosing the rise section (250), or the cross-section of the housing portion of the housing (210) enclosing the measurement section (255) is substantially the same as the nominal cross-section of the housing (210) enclosing the rise section (250), and the measurement paddle has a reduced area compared to the other paddles (220).

4. A crop elevator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the clearance between the measuring blade and the housing (210) in the measuring section (255) is greater than the clearance between the measuring blade and the housing (210) in the rising section (250) outside the measuring section (255).

5. A crop elevator according to any preceding claim, wherein an inner surface of the housing portion of the housing (210) enclosing the measuring section (255) has a low friction coating.

6. The crop elevator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing portion of the housing (210) enclosing the measuring section (255) has a reduced thickness.

7. A crop elevator according to any preceding claim, wherein the load cell (300) comprises a load cell mounted to the measuring blade.

8. A crop elevator according to any preceding claim, wherein the weight sensor (300) comprises a strain sensor mounted to the elevator loop (230).

9. The crop elevator of any preceding claim, wherein the weighing system further comprises a processor (320) configured to receive the weight sensor signal and configured to determine the weight of the harvested crop from the received weight sensor signal.

10. A crop elevator as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a proximity sensor (494) configured to output a proximity signal indicative of the position of the measuring blade.

11. The crop elevator of any preceding claim, further comprising:

an inlet section (270) located near a bottom of the elevator loop (230) and configured to receive a flow of harvested crop; and

an outlet section (295) located near a top of the elevator loop (230) and configured to output a flow of harvested crop.

12. A crop elevator according to any preceding claim, wherein the drop section comprises a further measurement section and the weighing system is configured to determine a further weight signal when a measurement paddle (420) is located in the further measurement section.

13. A combine harvester comprising a crop elevator according to any one of the preceding claims.

14. The combine harvester of claim 13, further comprising a yield sensor (296) mounted to an upper portion of the crop elevator and configured to output a yield signal indicative of a flow of harvested crop output by the crop elevator.

15. The combine harvester of claim 14, wherein the weighing system is configured to receive the yield signal and determine the yield of the harvested crop from the yield signal and the weight signal.